An unsettling day in the woods

Tuesday

Jun 12, 2012 at 9:28 PM

Amid homeless camps, the same day a gator chomps on man's shoulder, another man's neck is slashed over cigarettes

By Joey FlechasStaff writer

When James Wimmer is sober, friends say he stays away from the camps at Sweetwater Branch Creek. It's in those woods near the intersection of Williston Road and Southeast 16th Avenue that he drinks, they say.Before Monday, locals said Wimmer, 51, had been gone for two months, living with his girlfriend and staying sober."He was trying to get away from the stuff that brought him here," said friend and camp resident J.C. Goodwin.Goodwin, 52, said Wimmer was drinking before he jumped into the creek Monday, where a 9-foot-7-inch alligator bit him, shredding his shoulder.The incident left the homeless community east of South Main Street in shock and Wimmer in the hospital, where authorities said Tuesday he was recovering and able to speak.According to Karen Parker, spokesperson for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Wimmer is at Shands at the University of Florida and the FWC is investigating the incident — thus little information was available on Wimmer's injuries or recovery.Sitting at a glass table outside his tent Tuesday, Goodwin recalled seeing his friend slip into shock, with skin on his shoulders and back shredded and his left arm limp.As it turned out, it wouldn't be the only blood spilled Monday."Yesterday was one of those days," Goodwin said.? ? ?Wimmer had decided to cool off in the creek at around 4:30 p.m., stripping naked and jumping into the water.Seconds later, Goodwin ran toward the screaming and splashing coming from just behind his campsite.He threw a cinder block at the one-eyed, three-legged gator known to locals as "Three Legs" before it could drag Wimmer underwater. Three Legs backed off about 10 yards after the concrete block broke over his head, and Goodwin said he jumped in the water to keep Wimmer's head above water. As another local, Richard Humphrey, used Wimmer's phone to call for help, Goodwin slipped Wimmer's boxer shorts on him.Minutes later, Gainesville Fire Rescue workers arrived and helped move Wimmer to shallower water further upstream before bringing him up the creek's bank to the ambulance."It hurt to see him hurt," Goodwin said.As Goodwin settled in for the night about five hours later, he noticed red and blue lights through the darkness of the woods.He didn't want to check. He'd had enough for the day.? ? ?Around 10:15 p.m. on Monday, at the entrance to the campsites at Sweetwater Branch, where power lines cut through trees, Richard Humphrey wanted to buy two cigarettes off Richard Davis-Van Duzer.Davis-Van Duzer said he didn't have any.Humphrey, witnesses said, had been drinking.Goodwin said Richard Humphrey loves his beer, but he never gets violent. Seeing Wimmer hurt, Goodwin said, may have put him in a bad state of mind.Humphrey and Davis Van-Duzer argued over the cigarettes. It got heated, Davis Van-Duzer later said, and Humphrey pulled out a dull knife and slashed Davis Van-Duzer across the throat, coming inches away from a carotid artery."I knew it was bad when I felt the blood on my toes," he said.According to Gainesville police, Davis Van-Duzer tried to dial 911 on his cellphone, but Humphrey grabbed the phone and the two struggled for it.The 50-year-old Humphrey then ran off on Williston Road, where police said they spotted him covered in Davis Van-Duzer's blood.Davis Van-Duzer underwent surgery for his wound at Shands. Humphrey was arrested and charged with attempted murder and hindering communication with law enforcement, both felonies. He was being held without bond Tuesday at the Alachua County jail.? ? ?Goodwin didn't think twice before taking a dip in the creek to cool off Tuesday afternoon. High temperatures made for another steamy day at Sweetwater Branch.But he said he kept Wimmer in his thoughts, hoping to hear good news about his recovery soon."I think he'll pull through, like a trooper," he said.Near the entrance to the camps, dried blood spotted and blotched a gray tent and an eggshell-colored recliner.Davis Van-Duzer stood near his campsite with a stitched neck and a tube draining the wound into a plastic drum."I have to have it removed in three to four days," he said.Davis Van-Duzer said he had checked himself out of the hospital, upset he wasn't allowed to smoke his first cigarette in 16 hours.Camp resident Jesse Goodman, 61, said Wimmer's accident and Humphrey's attack made him think about being in those woods. Every day seems the same. Then comes a day like Monday."You don't ever think that can happen here," Goodman said.